Crucifixion and Seated Buddha: A Cultural Comparison

Introduction: Art as Cultural Context

Generally speaking, a very broad source of knowledge pertaining to a specific work of art often lies outside the limited geographical area in which it was first created. This knowledge is usually referred to as cultural context, which includes the political, social, economic, scientific, technological, and intellectual background from which the work of art originated. For example, the fall of the city of Rome "had much to do with stylistic changes in architecture and sculpture in the cultural periods that followed;" likewise, "the triumph of science and technology had everything to do with the great transformation" of the Renaissance Period (de la Croix, 6). Thus, the cultural context of two important works of art — the Crucifixion scene from the door panels of Santa Sabine in Rome and the Seated Buddha from the Gandharan region of northwest Pakistan — makes them cultural and historical documents in their own right, for they contain many clues to the civilizations from which they first emerged.

The Early Christian Period and the Santa Sabine Door Panel

By the beginning of the 5th century C.E., whatever remained of the great imperial city of Rome had long been abandoned; its cultural ideas and systems had also been abandoned and forgotten in a period known as the Dark Ages, when Western Europe slid into oblivion and forgot everything that Rome had symbolized for almost a thousand years. The "barbarians" who had taken over the remnants of the Roman Empire had christianized and controlled most of the Western Empire by the end of the 5th century C.E. At this time, a great number of Christian-influenced works of art began to appear, created by "Roman pagans who had been trained in the same crafts and brought up in the same cultural environment" as their Roman predecessors (de la Croix, 9).

These works of art from the Early Christian period "show the simple transformation of pagan cultural themes into Christian" and also exhibit "the freest kind of borrowing of pagan motifs and cultural manners" so closely linked to the old Greco-Roman way of life (de la Croix, 10). A prime artistic example from this period is the Crucifixion scene from the West doors of the Church of Santa Sabine, located on the Aventine Hill in Rome, dated circa 430 C.E. This door panel is considered the "first depiction of the crucifixion of Jesus," an event described by the apostle Paul, who is credited with writing at least fourteen books of the New Testament and was something of a scholar, having been taught to read and write in both Greek and Hebrew ("A Flowering of Faith," 10).

Religious, Political, and Social Motifs in the Crucifixion Scene

This door panel clearly contains many religious and political motifs associated with the culture that produced it. Although Christians were instructed to shun graven images because of their connections to pagan gods and worship, this panel may have been created as a way to "instruct the illiterate Christians of the day in the mysteries and stories of the faith" via the argument that Jesus was "made of flesh and dwelt among us" (de la Croix, 260). Despite the suggestion that this door panel does not represent a true crucifixion — due to the lack of a cross behind the figure of Jesus — it nonetheless demonstrates to the viewer how Jesus died after being sentenced by Pontius Pilate, the Roman governor of Judea, for being "a threat to imperial stability" ("A Flowering of Faith," 10).

The two figures to the left and right of Jesus are obviously of lesser importance; however, they do symbolize the religious and cultural context of the time. As Bill Storage points out, their appearance suggests that they are initiates or new disciples of Christianity, "being recently 'born to Christ' by acknowledging that Jesus was Lord" (Storage, "The Door Panels of Santa Sabine").

In addition, this door panel, composed of cedar wood, may represent a type of social event that was rather prominent during the Early Christian period. Since one can make out what appears to be a brick background behind the three figures, the panel might not have been designed to teach or provide instruction on a spiritual event like the crucifixion of Jesus, but may instead depict images "from an early passion play, possibly one performed outside the city walls" of Rome. This type of play was part of what is known as Roman mime theater, which "specialized in short scenes of gory violence, irony, satire, and sarcasm" for the delight of audiences who still clung to some of the worst social spectacles of the Roman Empire — a prime example being the killing of Christians in the Colosseum (Storage, "The Door Panels of Santa Sabine").

Conclusion: Shared Reflections Across Cultures

The Crucifixion and the Seated Buddha are true representatives of the cultures that created them, especially in relation to religion and how common men and women viewed not only themselves but also the spiritual world. Not surprisingly, both of these artworks — despite coming from very different cultural backgrounds — inspire a sense of awe and wonder and invite the viewer to ponder the mysteries of life in a reflective and meditative state of grace.